
Holy Hatred of Sin | Devotional By John MacAthur
“There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”Isaiah 48:22
We desperately need to recover a holy hatred of sin. We need to do this corporately as a church, but we also need to do it individually as believers. Sin is surely not a pleasant subject to study or preach on, but it is necessary.
Here in the midst of an increasingly worldly church it is critical. We must see our sin for what it is. An inadequate view of one’s own sinfulness is spiritually debilitating. Those who don’t see themselves as despicably sinful will never take the necessary steps to lay sin aside.
God has clearly indicted us for our own sin and assigned full responsibility to each individual sinner. The proof of that is the biblical doctrine of hell—the awful reality that each damned and unforgiven sinner will pay forever in hell the terrible price for his or her own sins.
In no way can this guilt be escaped by blaming others. Clearly, God does not see us as a race of victims! If He saw us as victims, He would punish someone else. But every condemned sinner will pay the full price in eternal torment for his or her own deeds—because each one is fully responsible.
No one’s conscience will be silent then. It will turn on the sinner with a fury, reminding him that he alone is responsible for the agonies he will suffer eternally.
If you find your conscience vanishing, you must realize the seriousness of your condition and repent; beseech God for a clear, functioning conscience; and set yourself to the task of laying aside sin in your own life.
In what areas of your life have you treated your sin too lightly?
John MacArthur
John MacArthur is a profound teacher of the word of God, a zealous preacher of Christian doctrine, a renowned writer and speaker, and Pastor and Teacher at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California